Rotarians Participate in Wreaths Across America
Frank Shipton
SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotarians Ron Lenz, Maggie DeBlock, Dick Kroese, Jennifer Williams, and Roger Swett participated in the laying of the Wreaths Across America on Dec. 16, 2023.
2023 Tucson Marathon
SSR hydration station volunteers (left to right): Roger Swett, Maggie DeBlock, Chris Dettmann, Ron Lenz, Patty See, and Roger Lindeken
Frank Shipton
Members of the SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary (SSR) once again manned a hydration station in support of the 2023 Tucson Marathon. However, this year, certain SSR members also joined approximately 2,600 others by actually participating as marathon runners/walkers.
Members Join in the Season of Giving
Pictured are SSR members Maggie DeBlock and Charlie See gathering and preparing all gifts for final distribution. Additionally, Maggie headed all efforts, and Charlie ensured that the final packages were delivered.
Frank Shipton
Working with the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach organization, members of the SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary (SSR) Club helped provide toys and clothing for distribution through Rice Elementary School and the Tribal Social Services to 230 children living on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
The Rotary Club Teams Up to Play Santa’s Helpers
Team Santa’s Helpers: Early morning helpers who cooked and set up the event included members of the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke, Oracle Community Center, and IMPACT of Southern Arizona.
The elves in the kitchen included Linda Howard, Liese Razzeto, Wendy Guyton, and Debbie Rue
Barbara Barr Bengen
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke teamed up with IMPACT of Southern Arizona, Oracle Community Center (OCC), Bubb’s Grub, Home Instead, and Manny Herrera to bring Christmas to 88 seniors and homebound people in the Copper Corridor. It took a team to produce a complete Christmas dinner with music, singing, dancing, and gifts. But the smiles on the faces of the recipients made the day!
The OCC offered a central location, kitchen, and dining facilities for area seniors. The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke has been instrumental in updating the kitchen and OCC building for community use. In the warmth of this facility, participants laughed, sang, danced, and enjoyed the holidays.
IMPACT of Southern Arizona services these seniors and homebound people. IMPACT offers a hand up, rather than a hand out. IMPACT led the team and secured donations.
Before the Christmas dinner began, it was announced that Bubb’s Grub provided smoked turkey and dressing. The entire community center reacted in joy! We all started to salivate on cue!
Manny Herrera’s music and song brought so much joy to this special occasion. The entire community center sang along. Herrera not only sang our favorite Christmas songs but also popular songs from our youth.
Home Instead provided gift bags for the 88 seniors and those who are homebound. The gift bags were decorated by elementary school children. The gift bags were filled with goodies for both guys and gals.
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke provided all kinds of support under the leadership of John and Linda Howard. There were months of planning, days of cooking and setup, hours of baking homemade cookies, serving the seniors, helping with the party and giveaways, distribution of gifts and homemade cookies, and then the clean up. And of course, there were some incredible experiences while delivering Christmas dinner, gifts, and cookies to homebound residents.
Most people join Rotary to help make a difference in the world. And what a difference we were able to make to 88 Copper Corridor seniors and others. Joining in on the Christmas dinner fun were the Howards, Molly and Jack Hunter, Wendy and Joe Guyton, Gordon Wainwright, Debbie Rue, Doug May, Wanda and Roger Bailey, Diane and Bill Demeroutis, Leslie Hawkins, Leslie Castner and guest, Betsy McMahan, Dave and Jan Baker, Gail and Tom Fraioli, Carol Soule-Reed, Elaine and Don Terry, Barbara and Bill Bengen, Kristi Halvorson, and Liese Razzeto.
The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke is an award-winning club. We meet on Thursdays at 11 a.m. for lunch at the Ranch House at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Next, we meet in the ballroom followed by an educational program or speaker. Rotary is open to those who live and work in SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, and the surrounding communities. All are welcome! For more information, check out saddlebrookerotary.com or contact the club’s Membership Chair Diane Demeroutis at [email protected].